Storage tube for elongated objects

ABSTRACT

A short length of a cylindrical tube provides at least one angle oriented open end establishing, in opposing positions about the cylindrical sidewall, a longer and a shorter sidewall length and, within the cylindrical sidewall at the longer sidewall length, a means for mounting the apparatus so that hardware may be more easily driven into the end of the longer sidewall length.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates generally to storage devices and moreparticularly to a tube with angled ends for improving the insertion andstorage of a tool or sports equipment.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] The following art defines the present state of this field:

[0005] Bartleman, U.S. D175,455 provides an ornamental design for a toolholder.

[0006] Power et al., U.S. 69,586 describes a broom holder havingextended arms, made from one continuous piece of wire, coiled orotherwise bent to produce sufficient spring, in combination with thebase.

[0007] Riessner, U.S. 316,062 describes a spring holding device having acombination of a bar, provided with one or more recesses with aspring-clamp, having an enlargement, adapted to fit or be held in saidrecess.

[0008] Headly, U.S. 612,844 describes a holder comprising a base portionhaving a longitudinal groove therein, a clamp having divergent sideswith flaring edges the back portion of which lies in said groove, areceiver having a corresponding shape and lying within and conforming tothe walls of the said clamp, said receiver having its edges extendedbeyond the edges of the clamp and bent back to lie close thereto, andmeans to secure said parts together and fasten the holder to the wall orother support, substantially in the manner and for the purposespecified.

[0009] Bowers, U.S. 676,573 describes a tool holder consisting of aplurality of arms each having tool-holding sockets projecting laterallytherefrom, one of said arms having means by which it may be secured to asupport, the second arm having at one end thereof a cross-bar which ispivoted to the first arm, and a third arm pivoted to said cross-barwhereby the second and third arms may be swung around on their pivots,substantially as described.

[0010] Steinheiser, U.S. Pat. No. 1,423,043 describes a broom holdercomprising a split ring of resilient metal having a slotted offsetportion, said ring having opposed annular series of slits formingtongues, and said tongues having inturned sharpened edges forfrictionally engaging a broom handle.

[0011] Kocher, U.S. 904,968 describes a holder for shears comprising amain holder consisting of an arch front plate and flat back platesecured to the front plate and a clamping section having returned bentflanges at its side edges forming channels for receiving the side edgesof the main holder section and the fibrous fabric whereon the holder isto be secured.

[0012] Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 1,501,629 describes a holder comprising abody member consisting of a substantially rectangular intermediateportion and a pair of angle-shaped end portions said end portions beingoppositely disposed with respect to each other and each extendinginwardly from one terminus of said intermediate portion, a pair ofoppositely disposed clamping members arranged against the outer face ofsaid intermediate portion and each including a forwardly projectingclamping arm, said clamping arms being curvilinear in contour andoppositely disposed with respect to each other and capably of beingshifted towards and away from each other, and means to provide for theadjusting of said clamping members to position said clamping arms andfurther for fixedly securing said clamping members in adjusted position,said means connected with and extending through said clamping membersand intermediate portion.

[0013] Penman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,139 describes a card for displayingmerchandise comprising a substantially flat sheet of resilientlybendable material formed with a pair of arcuate sides extending aboveand below the surface of said sheet to provide a re-entrant recesshaving an opening at the top of said sheet adapted to receive and retainan article which is adapted to be removed from said recess by bendingsaid sheet to bow the same upwardly to enlarge said opening.

[0014] Hutcheon, U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,274 describes an improved resilientclip for holding an article on a slotted support member comprising anarticle-holding member including a body portion sized and shaped toclosely envelop at least a portion of an article, said body portionhaving first and second ends and a longitudinal axis; a gripping portionintegral with each of said body portion ends; and at least oneexpandable gusset integral with said body portion intermediate the endsthereof and extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis ofsaid body portion.

[0015] Liesinger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,717 describes a holder forsupporting an object, as a hand tool, having an elongated cylindricalhandle. The holder has a plate adapted to be attached to a support. Atubular member attached to the plate has a passage and open endsaccommodate a portion of the handle. A section of the tubular member iscut out providing a side opening surrounded by inwardly convergingedges. The edges are joined with rounded bottoms located in oppositeportions of the tubular member. A coil tension spring extended acrossthe side opening has opposite hook ends connected to the plate. Themid-section of the spring engages the handle and biases the handle intofriction holding engagement with the tubular member.

[0016] Desjardins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,792 describes an accessory holderfor storing miscellaneous accessories for a vacuum cleaning systemcomprises a container containing a J-shaped hook for holding a coiledhose, clips for holding various extension wands, and compartments forstorage of other accessories. It is preferable that the container bedimensioned so that it can be recessed into a wall and fit snuglybetween the wall studs being retained there by frictional engagementwith the studs.

[0017] The prior art teaches the use of tubes and cylinders but does notteach such as a storage device. The present invention fulfills theseneeds and provides further related advantages as described in thefollowing summary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The present invention teaches certain benefits in constructionand use which give rise to the objectives described below.

[0019] The present invention includes a cylindrical sidewall and isconfigured so that it provides at least one angle oriented open endestablishing, in opposing positions about the cylindrical sidewall, alonger and a shorter sidewall length. The cylindrical sidewall at thelonger sidewall length adjacent the open end provides, a means formounting the apparatus, such as clearance holes for screws, so thathardware may be more easily driven into the end of the longer sidewalllength.

[0020] A primary objective of the present invention is to provide anapparatus and method of use of such apparatus that provides advantagesnot taught by the prior art.

[0021] Another objective is to provide such an invention capable ofsimple manufacture and use.

[0022] A further objective is to provide such an invention capable ofproviding ease of insertion of an elongated object.

[0023] A still further objective is to provide such an invention capableof storing elongated objects on a ceiling or wall surface.

[0024] Other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following more detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way ofexample, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. Insuch drawings:

[0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of theinvention;

[0027]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of theinvention;

[0028]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment showing ameans and method for mounting; and

[0029]FIG. 4 is perspective view showing several uses of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] The above described drawing figures illustrate the invention inat least one of its preferred embodiments, which is further defined indetail in the following description.

[0031] The present invention is an apparatus for engaging elongatedobjects 10 for the purpose of holding the objects in a preferredlocation and position when the objects are not in use, as for storage ofsuch objects. Such elongated objects 10, as for instance broom handlesand such, may be easily placed and removed from the invention, and, infact, may form one component of the invention when the invention isconsidered to be a combination. The apparatus provides a cylindricalsidewall 20, preferably of circular, square, rectangular or other suchshapes, any one of which has a longitudinal axis 22. In one version ofthe invention, the cylindrical sidewall 20 provides a right orientedopen end 24 in opposition to an angled open end 26. This results in alonger 30 and a shorter 40 sidewall length. Alternately, both ends maybe cut on a bias, or angled, preferably at a 45 degree angle as bestshown in FIG. 3. This also results in the longer 30 and shorter 40sidewall length when the plains of such bias cuts are convergent. Withinthe cylindrical sidewall 20 at the longer sidewall length 30, a meansfor mounting 50 of the apparatus is provided. Such a mounting means 50is preferably, at least one through hole and preferably at least twosuch holes. These through holes provide through hole center lines 52which are normal to the longitudinal axis 22 of the cylindrical sidewall20. The through holes are functionally positioned such that the throughholes center lines 52 are clear of the cylindrical sidewall at theshorter sidewall length 40, i.e., they are positioned adjacent to theopen ends 24 or 26. This facilitates the driving of a mounting screw 21(not part of the invention), or other hardware for mounting the sidewall20 using a hand held driving device such as a screwdriver.

[0032] In a further embodiment of the invention, the apparatus asdefined above is combined with an elongated rod, which is an example ofthe preferred elongated object 10 referred to above and which isremovably engaged within the cylindrical sidewall. The diameter of thecylindrical sidewall 20 is preferably less than twice the diameter ofthe elongated rod 10. It has been found, in this manner, that theelongated rod 10 is easily placed within the sidewall 20 and is yet noteasily inadvertently dislodged therefrom. The elongated rod may be atool handle, such as a mop or broom handle or a rake handle. It has alsobeen found that when the shorter sidewall length 40 is at least 4 timesthe interior dimension of the sidewall, the elongated object 10 tends tobe more firmly engaged with little tendency to be inadvertentlydislodged.

[0033] In use, as best seen in FIG. 4, the cylindrical sidewall 20 ismounted to a surface such as a wall or ceiling, and then the mop, broom,tool, sports equipment or other handle or elongated element is insertedinto the cylindrical side wall 20 so that the elongated device issupported in a manner whereby it is not easily misplaced or entangledwith other hardware and is able to be firmly stored when not in use. Theelongated device may thereby be stored on a ceiling or wall of a garage,for instance.

[0034] While the invention has been described with reference to at leastone preferred embodiment, it is to be clearly understood by thoseskilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto. Rather,the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in conjunction withthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for engaging elongate objectscomprising a cylindrical sidewall having, relative to a longitudinalaxis thereof, at least one of a right oriented and an angle orientedopposing open ends respectively, establishing, in opposing positionsabout the cylindrical sidewall, a longer and a shorter sidewall length;and, within the cylindrical sidewall at the longer sidewall length, ameans for mounting the apparatus.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe mounting means is at least one through hole.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein the at least one through hole provides at least onethrough hole center line normal to the longitudinal axis of thecylindrical sidewall, the at least one through hole positioned such thatthe at least one through hole center line is clear of the cylindricalsidewall at the shorter sidewall length.
 4. A combination apparatuscomprising an elongated rod removably engaged within a cylindricalsidewall, the cylindrical sidewall having, relative to a longitudinalaxis thereof, at least one of a right oriented and an angle orientedopposing open ends respectively, establishing, in opposing positionsabout the cylindrical sidewall, a longer and a shorter sidewall length;and, integral with the cylindrical sidewall at the longer sidewalllength, a means for mounting the combination.
 5. The combination ofclaim 4 wherein the mounting means is at least one through hole.
 6. Thecombination of claim 5 wherein the at least one through hole provides atleast one through hole center line normal to the longitudinal axis ofthe cylindrical sidewall, the at least one through hole positioned suchthat the at least one through hole center line is clear of thecylindrical sidewall at the shorter sidewall length.
 7. The combinationof claim 4 wherein the elongated rod is a tool handle.